CONFIDENCE & ENERGY

I got my April Triathlete magazine in the mail yesterday...I always enjoy the day that's in the "box". I seem to always pick up a jewel of information here and there from each issue and it definitely stokes the motivational fire each month!

I always read it in stages....first there's the "once over", which is a solid glance at it from front to back. Then I'll go from back to front and look at all the classifieds at the back just to make sure there's nothing out there that I absolutely need but don't have. I also like looking at all the advertisements....pictures, really, of what could possibly make me stronger and faster! You really have to be careful with this though because you don't want your bike catching you looking at pictures of "other" bikes...and this month is especially hard and tempting because it's the annual buyers guide!

My next stop is the "Training" section. It's always nice to see what others do and what might possibly make me more efficient in the water, stronger on the bike or faster in my shoes and certainly something that's going to improve my endurance.

"At The Races" is always a must see as well just to see who the top triathletes are, what their times are and how unrealistic those times are for me to achieve. The usual suspects seem to always be in the top 5...they just, often, switch places.

From there I'll check out Scott Tinley's article that's always on the last page...He's the great philosopher for the sport.

Let me apologize here because it's taken me this long to get to the reason for the post. I don't always read his "Starting Lines" article near the front but last night I read the "The Sandbagger" by Mitch Thrower. The gist of the article is that triathletes will train wherever, whenever and however is possible and they'll overcome great obstacles to do so. So much so that often times it causes other people to raise an eyebrow....and not in a good way. More like in a "man, you're a freak" kind of way. Why are triathletes this way? Well, the answer is simple, yet complex. If you ask 20 different triathletes you might get 20 different answers. But, in the end it comes down to this, and I didn't realize it until I read the article, and I quote: "There is no way non-triathletes could understand the energy and confidence you gain from this sport".

That's it! It's simple, descriptive, complete. Each time you complete a training session, each time you break down a barrier, each time you complete a race, feed off the crowd, "Bonk" and get back out there the next day, succeed, set a PR, endure a tough day and in the process embrace a completely different lifestyle that's healthy and keeps you moving, you build confidence and create more energy.